KVR Audio

christianlaptop · Post by **christianlaptop** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 12:11 am

Hey guys,

I took the last days to create a video, that compares a real Fender Rhodes with the most common plugins and a nord.
Please tune in and gimme a comment on what you think about the plugins and the rhodes sound. You can find soundcloud files under the video...

Thank you and enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKtVSJsem_I

SWAN808 · Post by **SWAN808** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:30 am

very nice test - only request would be to have .wav to compare in a DAW...ok I managed by opening a different window for each on soundcloud...For me the Scarbee is quite a soft rhodes, but the Neo Soul Keys is my favorite and very close to the 82 Rhodes. I dont know if the Rhodes sounds more present in the mix or it is my expectation/volume level...The Nord is cool with a bit more bark but its maybe not so realistic...The CFrenzen seems similar to the Neo Soul and RSP is not bad either. They are all good but I prefer a bit of high end and sweetness in the tone. My order of preference is:

Rhodes
Neo Soul
Cfrentzen
RSP
Nord
Scarbee Vintage Keys

elcabong48 · Post by **elcabong48** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 7:38 am

Nice review! I have a few questions...

Aren't the Scarbee Vintage Keys and the RSP73 the same thing? If not, what's the difference? I thought that Vintage Keys is just the Scarbee RSP73 packaged up and sold by NI.

Second, how did you get Scarbee, Neo Soul, and Cfrentzen to sound so good and realistic? I have all 3 of those and they don't sound nearly as realistic and good in my setup as in your video. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong or missing something with that EQ you mentioned?

Did you do anything special with velocity curves or compression to get that sound?

christianlaptop · Post by **christianlaptop** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:22 am

elcabong48 wrote:Nice review! I have a few questions...

Aren't the Scarbee Vintage Keys and the RSP73 the same thing? If not, what's the difference? I thought that Vintage Keys is just the Scarbee RSP73 packaged up and sold by NI.

You are not the first one, who says this. But they are really not the same. Listen to the solo-files I put on soundcloud. You hear a big difference between the two.
But: The R.S.P. was replaced by the C.E.P. and maybe THIS is the new Scarbee VintageKeys. However... both, the RSP and the Vintagekeys didn't have much in common.

elcabong48 wrote:Second, how did you get Scarbee, Neo Soul, and Cfrentzen to sound so good and realistic? I have all 3 of those and they don't sound nearly as realistic and good in my setup as in your video. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong or missing something with that EQ you mentioned?

Did you do anything special with velocity curves or compression to get that sound?

I did really nothing! I just opened the plugin. I didn't do any tweaking. I used the default preset on all plugins. In the mix we cutted the bassfrequencys, when the bass and guitar comes in at 300Hz, which is very high for a low cut, but it gives more space for other instruments. All plugins were edited the same way.

If you listen to the solo files, they are dry. Without EQ and reverb.[/quote]

thysm00 · Post by **thysm00** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 9:35 am

Nice comparison, it's too bad you did not compare it to our Mark79 as it is the only one that really is a Mark2 sample library

Let me know if you need me to render a Midi file.

bpblog · Post by **bpblog** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:00 am

awesome comparison! informative and fun to watch & listen to.

christianlaptop · Post by **christianlaptop** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:48 am

thysm00 wrote:Nice comparison, it's too bad you did not compare it to our Mark79 as it is the only one that really is a Mark2 sample library
Let me know if you need me to render a Midi file.

Thanks!
I know, that there are a few other plugins, but I wanted to keep the video short. But I will do part II for sure. I'm not working with pure midi-files. Every plugin reacts different to my keyboard playing. But if you can are able to give me access to your plugin, I can add it to the next comparison. LoungLizard is also something, that's interesting too...

core · Post by **core** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:56 am

Nice comparison. The Neo Soul one is my favorite. Sparks!

izonin · Post by **izonin** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:19 am

Nice playing, you and the rest of the guys!

Neo Soul sounds closest to my Mark II, but RSP is still my favorite. Scarbee Vintage Keys is a Mark I, so I can't really compare them. And Nord sounded the worst...

Funkybot's Evil Twin · Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:47 am

izonin wrote:Neo Soul sounds closest to my Mark II, but RSP is still my favorite. Scarbee Vintage Keys is a Mark I, so I can't really compare them. And Nord sounded the worst...

I was going to point this out also. Mark I's are a different sound than a Mark II entirely, and Scarbe is a Mark I. I've got a Mark I and Scarbe is pretty much spot on. It sounds like a slightly more well regulated version of my own Mark I.

christianlaptop · Post by **christianlaptop** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 12:11 pm

Hey!

NeoSoul, CFrentzen, Scarbee VintageKeys and RSP are all Mark I Samples!

izonin · Post by **izonin** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 12:36 pm

christianlaptop wrote:NeoSoul, CFrentzen, Scarbee VintageKeys and RSP are all Mark I Samples!

That explains why there's more "barking" in the low octaves. I prefer the cleaner sound of Mark II.

christianlaptop · Post by **christianlaptop** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 1:06 pm

izonin wrote:
christianlaptop wrote:NeoSoul, CFrentzen, Scarbee VintageKeys and RSP are all Mark I Samples!
That explains why there's more "barking" in the low octaves. I prefer the cleaner sound of Mark II.

Well, I could have voiceed the piano to bark more. I'm a bit careful with statements like "That sounds not like a Mark I" or "Ah, that's the reason why it sounds like this". There is a lot you can do with voicing...

Cri · Post by **Cri** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 1:23 pm

From my experience every real MkI and MkII I tried sounded different from each other. Mostly due to defects/tuning. That's a problem because I always want to buy new Rhodes libs/emulation

Anyway, nice video, I like them all.

izonin · Post by **izonin** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 1:52 pm

christianlaptop wrote:
izonin wrote:
christianlaptop wrote:NeoSoul, CFrentzen, Scarbee VintageKeys and RSP are all Mark I Samples!
That explains why there's more "barking" in the low octaves. I prefer the cleaner sound of Mark II.
Well, I could have voiceed the piano to bark more. I'm a bit careful with statements like "That sounds not like a Mark I" or "Ah, that's the reason why it sounds like this". There is a lot you can do with voicing...

You're probably right, but I still prefer my Mark II for jazz and bossa. The SVK Rhodes I mostly use for funky stuff. They do sound very different.

Fender Rhodes Mark II vs. Software vs. Nord Comparison